Snake Love Rewrite
by SmilingDragonDino
Summary: Bella was running away from home because of that happened in her past. Now she has found her way to Mud, where she finally will feel free. However, it is a little hard when two hellfire eyes is set on you. When also some familiar faces from her past joins in, the word "hard" just get evolved to harder.
1. Chapter 1

**So, the first chapter. It took me awhile. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I hope you like my rewritten version of "Snake Love". The chapters will hopefully be longer now and with more details. I should also tell you that there will be some difference. Jake will for example be a little more in his character, please don't be angry at me for it. There will also be more about Bella's past and maybe Jake's. So, I hope you will still like this story and if you don't, then please no flames, I'm really trying! And on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rango only my OC/OC's!**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Mud**

**Third P.O.V**

"Damn, how long is this desert?" growled a pissed off female rattlesnake as she slithered on the hot sand. It was a very attractive woman. With the black diamond pattern on her back, her dark copper coils and amethyst eyes she was a sight to behold. A very rare sight. It's not every day you have the chance to see a snake with amethyst eyes. She also had a scar over her left eye, it went from under her eye and over the eye and stopped on the head. It wasn't so thick, not even one millimeter. However, beside the scar, this beauty's name is Bella.

Oh well, back to the subject. People would probably wonder why someone would be travelling around half the Mojave desert. Bella would have answer that question with "I'm trying to find somewhere to stay, duh!" And that is true, she's trying to find somewhere to stay. So far the most people from other towns has felt frightened and afraid around her, so she continued to travel since she didn't felt welcomed. She couldn't blame them thought, she eats animals after all. The town she was heading to now should be lucky that she ate a big rat an hour ago. Hunger and tiredness doesn't work well with her, she'll be in a bad mood then and she's quite dangerous when she's in a bad mood.

Finally she could see some houses not far away. 'Finally!' she thought. She started to slither a little faster, in terrible need to reach her destination so she could rest. The houses got bigger and bigger and now she really hoped that someone wouldn't see her and start screaming. However, she knew that this town was a little special. This town was Mud. She didn't really knew it's story, but she knew the sheriff. In fact, Sheriff Rango was known in some parts of the desert. Most because he had helped other towns with Bad Bill and his gang. That fat lizard was most seen in Mud most of the time since Mud was the town with most water in the whole desert. Bad Bill and his gang was most known for stealing money, breaking into people's house, destroying things and trying to seduce women. But for the most times they got slapped and thrown in jail, so people weren't that afraid of them, but that doesn't mean that you should walk up to them and pick a fight. But they were pretty good at that themselves so you didn't have to worry about that.

Bella was now in front of the first house, or the side of it. So far no one had seen her, good. She tried to stay unseen until she came to the sheriff's office, if you want to call it that. Bella was pretty sure it was going to be a sign with the word 'Sheriff' or 'Jail' on the building she was looking for. The building was probably in the middle of the town so this wasn't going to be easy, but Bella could be lucky now that she was an expert at moving in silence. Thanks to her coils colors it was also very hard to see her when she was moving in the shadows. She took good advantage of this when she was hunting, she loved the face of her prey when it saw her. It was for the most a face of horror and a little hint of sadness. But she wasn't hunting now, she was searching for a building. And she found it, faster than she had expected. As she thought it was in the middle of the town, there was a big sign above where it was written 'Jail'. But there was also a little sign that was hanging from two chains where it was written 'Sheriff'. 'Hmm, Bella thought, the sign seems to be new'. Bella didn't know what had caused the sign to be switched, but unknowing for her she was going to figure it out sooner than she thought. 'Oh well, might as well say hi to the sheriff' she thought before she carefully slithered out from the shadows and hoped that no one saw her. She knocked on the door without drawing any attention, she was lucky that she had arrived so early in the morning so that everyone was still asleep, and waited for the door to be opened. In around five seconds the door opened and there stood a very tired lizard.

"Hello, what can I do-"Rango didn't finish his sentence when he realized what was standing in front of him. He seemed to be a little pale and had frozen completely. 'If he starts screaming I'm going to knock him out,' Bella was a little nervous if he were going to scream or not. She didn't want anyone to know that she was here until she had talked to the sheriff.

"Umm… Could we talk inside?" She asked him, she was whispering so Rango could understand that she didn't want any attention. He gathered himself and finally got his normal green face back again.

"Sure, miss…?" Rango answered as he asked for her name.

"Bella, Bella Fang." Rango nodded and walked inside with her right behind him. She wasn't that impressed by the lizard, however she was a little shocked that she could see some respect in his eyes for her. She had never met someone before that showed her some respect instead of fear and horror, especially a lizard. Had he me a rattlesnake before? She didn't know that Rango had met Rattlesnake Jake so she was just as clueless as a hatchling that took it's first steps into the world. But she knew that if he had met a rattlesnake and it had tried to eat him, the respect in his eyes wouldn't be there now. But it was, which made her think that maybe he have a rattlesnake buddy somewhere in the desert. 'No, it sounds almost impossible, but still…' Bella thought as she saw Rango standing in front of her uncomfortable. At least he was a little afraid of her. After all, she could just take a fast leap and Rango would have rattlesnake poison in his body. Bella was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a sign next to the sheriff's desk. Bella shivered a little, it was the old 'Sheriff' sign, and it was full of holes from bullets. 'Well, now I know that someone doesn't like him or didn't like him' Bella thought and started to focus on her talk with the sheriff.

"So, what might your business be in Mud, miss Bella?" asked the sheriff. He seemed a little unsure, as if he was a little afraid of what her answer may be.

"As you may see sheriff I am pretty tired, I would be very thankful if you would let me stay here and rest for some time," she tried her best to make him see that she was no danger to the town or a threat, "I promise you to not destroy anything or eat anyone and pay for my house, if I now get one." She finished and hoped that she had made herself clear. Rango himself seemed a bit shocked. It's not every day a rattlesnake comes and asks for shelter, he had never seen any snakes in the towns he had visited so he thought that they slept under a rock in the middle of nowhere.

"…if you promise to not put any harm on the town or it's people, I think I can offer you a house. You are going to have to pay for it like everyone else of course, so I think I'm going to have to find a job for you as well," this answer made Bella very happy but the sheriffs next answer made her remember something she had forgot for the moment, "however, the town's people will probably not be so comfortable around you, I'm afraid." Of course, the town's people. Bella got a small flashback from when she visited a town far away from here, when a woman saw her she started screaming and in about a minute the whole town had guns pointed at her. They were screaming at her, telling her to leave. Bella, of course, left. She didn't felt like having hundreds of bullet holes in her head. "Miss Bella, are you alright?" asked the sheriff. He knew that the town's people weren't going to like this, they would probably want her to leave. After Rattlesnake Jake left with the screaming mayor in his coils the town's people hoped to never have to see him again, but those chances were low. Rango had a feeling that Jake would come back, he just didn't know when. To make it worse, Rango also knew that Jake didn't left a town without a soul, but with luck maybe he would take Bad Bill next time. Rango often wondered if all rattlesnakes were like Jake, not outlaws and murders but, almost seeing it as if everything that's smaller than themselves is food. This female rattlesnake didn't seem to be like that, so Rango took the risk to let her stay, but he would definitely throw her out of the town if she ate someone. If not somebody shot her first.

"Oh yea, I'm fine thank you," Bella plead in her mind that he would let her stay, "so, do you let me stay?" she asked. Rango looked at her and gave her a small smile, which she takes as something good.

"Yes, you have my permission to stay here." Bingo.

**So what do you think? Bad or good? I gave Bella a scar and some random information about her. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the reviews or PM me. I don't know when the next update will be, it depends on. Bye bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: A tour and hellfire eyes

**Alright, the second chapter. So sorry for the wait, real life took most of my time to write. But I hope this chapter will be enough for now. By the way, thank you for your reviews! **

**Guest: Glad to hear that you like it!**

**Anonguest: Thank you very much!**

**Guest: Well, Rattlesnake Jake will come to Mud, she will not mess with him, but she will not be that friendly either. As for how they will live, the same house, yes. The same bed, I don't think so. I'm still thinking thou if that will change.**

**Guest: It was an outlaw that gave her that scar, yes. As for the house-sharing I say as I did in the comment above, yes. **

**Zoommerfish: I'm sorry to hear that you seem to like the original better, but I hope you still will like this either way. And yes, my spelling has been improved=)**

**Guest: Jake will show himself in the ending of this chapter, but he won't make a real appearance until the next chapter. I don't really know how long it will take for Jake to start liking Bella, but it shouldn't take that long. **

**ShortNinja13: I'm happy to hear that you like my story=) Sorry for the long wait! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rango or any of the movie's characters and neither the song in this chapter! I only own my OC/OC's! I don't own the song in this chapter neither!**

**Chapter 2: A tour and hellfire eyes**

**Third P.O.V**

After the sudden visit from Bella, Rango was a little unsure of what to do next. He had accepted her, yes. But he was still worried about what the town would think. Beans would probably be furious and then freeze. Priscilla could possible either adore the snake or want to kill her. The rest of the town…he didn't know. Rango looked at Bella while she rested on the floor. What was she doing here? Then Rango remembered, where are she going to live? He had the old mayor's house, it should be enough. As long as nothing just as big as her comes then it should be fine. But Rango couldn't help but to be worried. He had heard from some towns people that they had seen a rattlesnake slithering around in the area. It wasn't Bella of course, this snake had been lurking around those parts in at least a week now. Wounded Bird had taken a little closer look in this 'snake problem'. He came with some new information earlier this day. This snake was a male, he have a black hat and brown scales, but none of this things made Rango 100 % sure of who it was: it was the rattling gun that sat on the tail instead of a rattle. With all of this evidence Rango could come to the conclusion that this snake was no other than Rattlesnake Jake. Yipee! How lucky he is. His dear ol' brother who humiliated him, kicked him out of the town and tried to kill him is almost standing on his doorstep. Of course, he saved Jake and they tipped their hats to eachother, but that didn't changed the fact of who Jake was and still is. He still is the same murderous outlaw he always been, and if Rango would make the wrong move than Jake wouldn't probably show him any mercy. But you could always hope.

Shaking his head, Rango thought that it may be best to take one problem at the time. It was just 23:50 and the whole town was asleep, expect him and Bella. So, he had two alternatives. One: take Bella to the mayor's house and let her sleep there over the night and hope that no one would notice her. Or two: spend the rest of the night and talk about rules and work for 'Miss Snake' here. He choosed alternative one. It's a risk, but it's worth it as long as he gets his good night sleep.

"Alright, miss Bella, I've come to a solution. Since I need to sleep and are going to have to spend some time with you tomorrow, I think it's best for you to sleep in the old mayors house for the night and then we discuss work and staying time tomorrow. Does that sound fair?" Rango asked, while yawning and trying his best to stand up because of his tired legs.

"Fair enough." Bella said and started moving out of the building. She had seen the mayor's house when she was heading to the sheriff. When her whole body was out of the sheriff's office she started to move towards her next destination.

'Hopefully this will not end as bad as it did last time I visited a town…' she thought to herself as she came nearer her hopefully new home.

~RJ+BF~

In one of the houses next to the sheriff's laid little Priscilla in her soft bed. She and Rango had trained with their guns today to see who could shoot best. Today Rango was lucky enough to win. After a whole day of training she should be pretty tired, but she wasn't tired at all.

'I need something to drink,' she thought as she felt how dry her mouth and throat was. Then there was a loud growl. '…and a night sandwich.' She jumped out of the bed and started to move to the stairs when she saw movement outside her window. Priscilla slept on the second floor so she could easily see the town streets. She looked out of her window and her breath froze as she saw a long body slither in the shadows. 'It can only be one thing, but who is a better question.' Her mind was spinning as she thought of who it could be. She had already come to the conclusion that it was a snake, I mean, what else could it be? Priscilla knew very few snakes in the desert. The only ones that are well known are, well, outlaws. Why? Well, ask someone who knows. Thanks to the dark she couldn't see how the snake looked like. 'Hmm…no hat, a normal rattle, color unknown, eyecolor unknown, adult judging by the size, defiantly not an outlaw.' These thoughts rushed through Priscilla's mind as she observed the snake as much as she could in the dark. She saw the 'Shadow Snake' continue forward until it arrived outside the old mayor's house. She saw the snake open the door and slither in and then closing the door. Priscilla blinked three times. This situation was starting to feel a little awkward. She had just witnessed an unknown rattlesnake slither through the town and into the old mayor's house as it was her own. So what to do now? The simple answer was: drink a glass of water, take a night sandwich and go back sleep. No doubt that the snake would still be there in the morning, and if it wasn't, then it had simply continued out in the dessert. But Priscilla couldn't help to have a feeling that she would see that 'Shadow Snake' again, as she decided to call him, or her, for now.

~RJ+BF~

_Knock knock_

'Just a few more minutes'

_KNOCK KNOCK_

'Go away'

_BANG BANG_

"WHAT?!" Bella yelled as she shot up from her comfortable new bed. She looked around and remembered the previous night. 'Right…' She heard the door open and close as she stretched herself. It didn't take long for the sheriff to appear from the stairs and into her room.

"Why didn't you open the door?" said a still sleepy Rango.

"Uh, because I was still sleeping?" Bella replied. Wasn't it rather obvious?

"Oh well, can't do nothin' about it now. So, are you ready to meet the towns people today?"

"I guess…" she said a little unsure.

"Don't worry it will be fine. Can you come and wait inside the house at the door while I gather the whole town?"

"Sure." This was it, no turning back now. She and Rango made their way down the stairs and stopped in front of the door.

"I'll be back soon, I'll give you a signal when it's time to appear. Oh, this will be fun to put my actor skills in work again!" And with that he was out of the house. She stood still for a few moments before she looked around in the room, which she didn't did the previous night. Against the wall was a mirror with a crack. She slithered up to it and looked at her reflection. She had to admit that her looks are…quite rare. But she had never been bullied, ashamed or seen as a freak for her looks, which she was very happy about. Then Bella's eyes landed on her scar in the face. She placed her rattler on it and sighed. She would never forget that horrible night as she faced one of the deserts most dangerous outlaws, thank god that he was dead now. She always tried to push that memory away, the screams and the pain she felt as his knife sliced over her left eye. She was lucky that he was dying when he charged at her, if she hadn't bite him then he would have made her half blind. And, yes, she killed him. Bella Fang killed Wrath Wilder, one of the most feared outlaws in the desert. He had been a Gila Monster, a lizard, just the same specie as Bad Bill, just not as fat and unsuccessful. Wrath had spent the last 15 years he lived with killing people for fun, for him it was a hobby, a horrible one. Of course when she killed him the news spread around in the desert quite quickly. Her name was whispered her and there, but no one knew how exactly she looked like, which she was quite lucky for. Killing a famous outlaw gave you both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that other outlaws in the desert learned not to mess with you, the disadvantage was that people in towns were terrified. Some people believed that an even stronger and more dangerous outlaw had come, while some hoped that it was a kind and brave soul that had saved them from one danger that had been walking around in the desert for far too long. But you may see that this was just hopes, because everyone knew one thing about their 'hero'. And that was that their 'hero' was a snake. That made it hard for people to believe that this was a kind soul. Bella herself was very proud of her brave act that night, she didn't regret that she ended his life. After all, the only thing he did was killing people, what good did he bring to the world? Nothing but grief and misery, and Bella did eat different kind of animals that lived in the desert, but she had a special menu. She always searched for outlaws to eat, all kinds of animals expect other snakes. She wasn't that heartless you know, that was why she often enjoyed eating her meals because the outlaws got to know how all their victims had felt.

But there was someone more that also was very proud of her: her father, Scar Fang. Thanks to Scar, the name Fang had spread through the whole western. Scar had grown famous for not only his impressive large size, but also his incredible fangs, they are unusually big and he was incredibly fast when he used them in battle. He was like a mix of lightning and poison, even other venom snakes feared him. Scar wasn't really an outlaw, but he wasn't a hero either. No one really dared to challenge him, and even if people dared to do it, he would still roam around and do whatever he wanted. But it also happened that he got requests from towns to eliminate outlaws or threats to their town. By doing this, he had got himself a good amount of money, which he used to build a big mansion, big enough for rattlesnakes to slither around in. Scar is a really proud snake, he hold his pride for not just his size and incredible skills, but also his family. His wife, a beauty no doubt. Three children, one boy and two girls, and one of them have killed a dangerous outlaw in her days. She wasn't really surprised that some people thought that it actually was her father who had killed Wrath Wilder, no one knew much about him, except his family. And since no one neither knows that he have children, who would suggest that it was Scar Fang's daughter who killed Wrath. But here is also where it gets a little tricky, some victims from that day was sure that is was a female snake, so they all asked eachother: "who did it?". But Scar didn't care if people believed that it was him or someone else that had killed that miserable lizard, he know that his daughter did it and filled him with pride. The big rattlesnake is practically shining with pride. Bella have always had a good relationship with her father, both of them are really one of a kind.

'Sigh. I hope it comes outlaws to this town sometimes, or else I'll starve to death.' She thought as she also thought back on her meal problem instead of her father. She then started to hear footsteps outside the house. She could hear the sheriff beg for everyone's attention as she pressed her ear against the door.

"Hello, my dear town! You may all wonder why I have summoned you all today, and as much as I would like to keep it a mystery for you all, I'm afraid that you would all die of curiosity then." Rango said in a dramatic voice.

'He sure likes acting, he should be an actor instead of a sheriff…'

"But before I open these door of mystery I would like to tell you all to _not _start panicking, because I got everything unde' control." He said in a still dramatic but a little serious tone.

'I doubt that they will take him seriously, oh well, they will just get the surprise of their lives.'

"Alright then, Bella you can come out now!" Show time. Bella could here murmuring when she started opening the double door, and when the crowd could see exactly what had been behind the 'mystical door' everything grew quite. Not a sound was made, you could only hear the wind silently blew through the town. Bella didn't dare say anything, what if that would start the screaming. She turned her head to the sheriff, as if telling him to say something. Rango seemed to understand her desperate looking eyes and faked coughed.

"As you can see we have a new arrival in town," Rango started as a few new murmurs could be heard through the crowd, "before any of you start with any protests I would like to tell you that I've already talked to Miss Bella here and you have _no _reason to shoot her!" He was still using his acting, but you could at least hear some seriousness in his voice. The towns people looked nervous and doubting. "Bella, would you like to introduce yourself properly?" She almost didn't hear his question, she was busy trying to keep her cool. But she gave the sheriff a small nod.

"I'm Bella 'n' as all of you can see I'm a rattlesnake. I have no intention to hurt any of you so if you are holdin' a gun in your hand you can drop it. I'm planning to stay here for some time, for how long I myself don't know yet." Dear God, it isn't easy to have a whole town staring at you. "Uh…any questions?" It was worth asking. After all, half of the town lifted their hands in the air. Since Bella didn't know their names she once again looked at Rango, who once again caught her help seeking eyes. But she could also see confusion in them, maybe it was because she didn't tell them her last name? Either way there was no way she would do that, they would immediately figure out who she was and then she could kiss her chances goodbye.

"Yes, Beans?" A Desert Iguana, female, red locks, brown eyes and a blue dress. Might as well learn some names while you have the chance.

"When was this decision made?" Beans asked with a little anger in her eyes, better be careful with her.

"Nine hours and ten minutes ago." Bella took a quick look at the clock and saw that it was exactly 09.00 am. Ha, she had to admit that this sheriff was kind of funny. "Yes, Waffles?"

"What will she eat while she's here?" A horned toad lizard, male, young and red eyes. At this question Rango looked a little unsure and turned his eyes to Bella, now it was his turn to look desperate.

"Well, I eat once every week. I guess if you don't have anything in town to feed me or any outlaw I could eat, I will probably have to go out in the desert for some hours to find myself something."

"Wait you eat outlaws? If that's true then we could just let you eat Bad Bill!" said Waffles. Bad Bill huh? Bella doubted that he really was that bad, he was probably just a poor animal that was completely worthless.

"Now, now, Waffles, I'm sure that that problem will be solved later. Now, who's next? Yes, Bufford?" Some kind of frog, male, a little hat on his head and yellow eyes.

"I am still a little unsure about this whole 'what to eat' thing." He started as he gave Bella a nervous glance. "How can we be sure that her hunger or, I don't know, killer instincts take over?" Her killer instincts? Seriously?

"They won't, believe me." Bella answered the sceptic looking frog.

"And how do we know that? How do we know that you won't eat any of us while we are asleep?" It was Beans who asked this questions. She looked very sceptic too, it would be hard to convince her that Bella meant no harm. Beans questions also seemed to have some affection on the rest of the towns people, because they started to look very uncomfortable. Bella was having a small panic attack, how was she going to convince them about that?! She was sure she would be unaccepted if a little cactus mouse hadn't interfered everyone's murmuring.

"She won't," said the little girl, who Bella presumed couldn't be so old. "I saw her the previous night when she was going here. There was no sign that she had had a meal or eaten anyone before that. And I doubt that she would actually be that stupid." Priscilla explained. So she had seen her, huh? Bella was a little surprised that this little mouse was defending her but she needed it now. And it was certainly best to be quiet about that she had eaten a rat just some hours before that. Bella thought that she had to thank this girl later, she wasn't one to thank or apologies to people but this girl deserved it.

"Well then, I believe that that matter is taken care of now, thank you Priscilla." Rango thanked the mouse that now Bella knew the name of. The uncomfortable looks seemed to decrease and Bella decided that it was time to move on.

"Well, the only thing I ask for now is if ya let me stay here without any…uncomfortable…situations?" Looks were shared in the crowd before heads started to nod. Thank God! "Then, I would be happy if you could give me a tour, sheriff."

"Yes, of course. Was it something else I was thinkin' about? Oh yeah, is it so that any of you could give Bella a job? Since she have to pay for her stayin'." Bella had totally forgot about a job, she might as well be done with that before they start moving.

"I could use someone to help me at the saloon." Bufford said as if he was quite happy about, he must really need some assistance then.

"Wow, that was fast," said a rather surprised Rango as he stared with wide eyes at Bufford. He then began smile and let out a small laugh. "Ha, then one more matter is taken care of. Come on Bella, it is…TOUR TIME!" Rango said in a dramatic voice as he stretched his arms wide in the air. What an actor he is… Bella lightly shacked her head and without another word they began to move away from the crowd that had started to head off to their daily routines.

~RJ+BF~

Somewhere else in the desert not far away from Mud, a big animal (compared to the majority of the deserts animals) was moving in the sand. It was a Diamondback Rattlesnake, male, a black hat, belts with bullets around his upper body and a gun on his tail where the rattle should be. He was moving towards Mud, he needed water because the latest town he had been in had a very little amount of water. These days almost every town in the desert had water, some had much while some had little. Mud was the town with the most amount of water and the towns people preferred to keep this a secret, they didn't want tons of uninvited animals drinking up all of their water. However, this rattlesnake _knew _that they had the most amount of water. He had, after all, been in the town before and seen it all. With that said, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out who he is. He was no other than the famous outlaw Rattlesnake Jake, the Grim reaper of the west. After he had devoured the previous mayor of Mud, his status as a dangerous outlaw had increased even more. Jake had realized that if you killed or ate someone with high status like a sheriff or a mayor in a town, your own status increased very much, as an outlaw. A sheriff's status and fame increased if he killed an outlaw with high status or did something brave that made him a 'hero' as well. Mayor's had to do something big and good for their town to increase in fame and status.

Jake had to admit that the mayor had saved him the trouble to find a meal the last two weeks. But now he was starting to get hungry, he had to find something to eat before he entered the town so his hungry didn't take over completely. Jake knew the townspeople feared him far too much to even dare to point a gun at him, well, all expect one. Their new sheriff had made it perfectly clear during his last visit that he would put a bullet between his eyes if he ate someone. Jake still respected that lizard even thought he would never admit to anyone. That lizard was also something Jake could find on his menu. Speaking of menus, it looks like his hunger has come to an end. Jake put a dark grin on his face as he started to slither closer to the unexpecting rat that seemed to search for something or someone…

~RJ+BF~

The tour went very fast. The bank, the jail (which she already had seen but Rango insisted to have a proper tour), the towns lake, some of the houses where people lived and the saloon where she was going to work was the only places she remembered after the _very _dramatic tour of a _very _dramatic sheriff. Right now they were in the saloon and drank some cactus juice, Bella took that opportunity to look around the saloon to see how things worked. Her job didn't seem to be that hard, the only problem would be that she wouldn't have much room to move around in. The saloon weren't really gigantic and with her size she hoped Bufford wouldn't give her serving service.

"So, what do you think?" Rango asked.

"I must admit that this town is a very peaceful and…carefree town," she answered him. "I think I could get used to this place." This town is perfect for both living and _hiding. _She came here for a reason after all and she doubted that anyone would search for her here. For even if Mud should be famous for it's water, it was still unknown for the majority of the west. Then, Bella heard footsteps coming towards her and Rango and looked to her left side to see Bufford.

"I see yer getting used to the place, I was thinking about telling you about yer job now when yer here." Bella gave him a nod urging him to continue. "Since you're pretty…big, I thought that it would be best that you helped clean the glasses and helpin' me making drinks." Well, at least he had been thinking about her size…

"It will do just fine."

"Well then, I must go back to the jail and look through some papers Wounded Birds gave me. Feel free to do whatever you, eh, except eating anyone." Rango said as he went out the saloon doors. She had permission to do almost anything she want. It was very peaceful at the lake when they were there, so she might as well take a trip around the lake.

"Say Bufford, do I have to work today?"

"Well, since it is yer first day here I guess you can have a day off." Bella thanked Bufford and slithered out of the saloon and started to move to the outside of the town.

As she reached the lake she was lucky that no one was there, she liked to be alone. It helped her to relax and as she liked to say it: "stress down". As she started to slither around the lake she concentrated herself on relaxing. Her mind was blank and for a brief moment she closed her eyes. After some time of her "stress down" moments she realized that she had moved to the other half of the lake. She looked down at her reflection and sighed. Suddenly, she felt an urge to sing a song. She'd been told back home that she had a lovely voice, which she herself agreed to. At this moment she wanted to sing a slow song, and the one she chose fit in with her past as well.

_**Oh, misty eye of the mountain below**_

_**Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls**_

_**And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke**_

_**Keep watching over Durin's sons**_

~RJ+BF~

Rango looked with distressed eyes down on the rapport Wounded Bird had given him. There was no mistake now, Jake was coming to the town. According to Wounded Bird, Jake was heading straight for the lake, in that case he must be thirsty. Then it is a possibility that he won't actually go into the town, then Rango also don't have to face him…again. Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind, could rattlesnakes _smell_ other rattlesnakes? Rango had never been a snake expert and he started to get worried. If Jake comes to the lake to drink and then smell the scent of a female rattlesnake, how would he react? But then again, why should he care if there suddenly are one of his kind in Mud? A tough and dangerous outlaw like him wouldn't care, right?

~RJ+BF~

Jake felt his thirst for water rise for every meter forward he moved. That rat had only worsen his thirst and his patience was running out. But after moving over a little hill he could finally see the lake. He started slithering faster to the destination to end his thirst in this dry and warm weather. Suddenly, he heard something and he put up his gun immediately to be prepared for any attacks. But when he moved more forward and listened more carefully, he could hear someone…singing? The song got stronger the nearer he got to the lake and now when he could hear it clearly, it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his whole life. Jake even stopped to listen to more of it.

_**Calling out father oh**_

_**Prepare as we will**_

_**Watch the flames burn auburn on**_

_**The mountain side**_

_**Desolation comes upon the sky**_

_**Now I see fire**_

_**Inside the mountain**_

_**I see fire**_

_**Burning the trees**_

_**And I see fire **_

_**Hollowing souls**_

_**I see fire**_

_**Blood in the breeze**_

_**And I hope that you remember me**_

Jake had to know who it was with the voice of an angel. He saw that there was a big rock near the lake and the voice seemed to be coming from behind it. Just as he started to slither forward again he realized that the woman, that he could clearly hear that it was, had stopped singing. He carefully looked out from the side of the rock and there his breath froze.

It was a female rattlesnake! Her scales had a nice copper color and her eyes were of a color that Jake thought no one could have. Her amethyst eyes was focused on the water in the lake. She seemed unaware of his presence so far. Jake couldn't help but to gawk at this incredible looking female, he of all people, were speechless! He had to admit that she is very attractive, and he suddenly got a feeling in his stomach that he wanted to meet her personally. Not standing and staring at her instead of talking. He thought that it would be best to show himself until she made her move. And with that plan decided he started to think about an answer to his question that was now swirling in his head: why she was here?

~RJ+BF~

Bella could practically see all emotions that were in her eyes for the moment. The sadness was showing itself most, but also anger and rage were visible. That song reminded her so much of _that _night, it was the same night that she had killed Wrath Wilder. Her anger and rage had taken over her fully when she attacked the Gila monster. Bella shuddered as she remembered all of the screams and the crying children, everyone around her was suffering, except _him. _She shocked her head to clear her mind. How can she be thinking about those things when luck finally seems to be on her side?

_DONG DONG_

The clock struck in the town, two times means it's already 14:00 pm. She might as well go back and take a nap, all the singing have made her sleepy. She turned left to slither beside the lake back to the town when she suddenly heard something rattle, but it sounded metallic. She quickly turned her head around to see who the intruder was, only to look into a pair of eyes with the color of hellfire.

"Well well, what do we got here?"

**Authors note: As you all can see this chapter is pretty longer than the others I have ever made. I myself had no idea it would turn out to be so long, but I'm rather proud of myself for it. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking: "is it going to take another half year for the author to update again now?" My answer to you is no, that's not what I'm planning to. I don't really know how time I will have to write the next chapter, but I guess we just have to wait and see. That's all for now, see ya!**


	3. Chapter 3: Sharing a house

**And here's the third chapter. Again I'm sorry for the long waiting, but I've been very busy (as usual) lately. But now it's summer, and I got almost all time in the world! I do hope that this will be satisfying enough, for now. This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, I apologize for that too. I've been thinking a lot of how Jake and Bella's relationship will look like now in the beginning and I think I have a good sight of it now. So, we'll start it with a bit of drama and then it will go up, up, up and BAM! Alright, it may not look like it's well thought through, but it's a start.**

**Guest: If you mean that Jake should be like he is in the movie then yeah, I think so too. I'm really trying to not make him too much OOC. =)**

**Guest: I'm sorry about that, it's a little hard with him especially when he uses those difficult words. And believe me I'm trying to make him come out as a funny guy, but luck is not always on my side. ;)**

**MMM: No, the people in Mud doesn't know and that is exactly what Bella wants. Yes, she eats outlaws. Bad Bill? Yes. Rattlesnake Jake? No. She doesn't eat other snakes. And I'm glad you like the story so far. =)**

**XXDXX: Thank you very much! And don't worry, I will. XD**

**Guest: Thank you, I've been training my writing for this. =)**

**funny-kitty: Don't worry you got your next update here. =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rango or it's characters. I only own my OC/OC's. **

**Chapter 3: Sharing a house**

**Third P.O.V.**

Bella couldn't move. Her eyes widened as she looked into eyes of pure hellfire. She couldn't look away, but she got some of her senses back after she blinked once. However, she didn't look away and started to gather information about him by looking at his eyes and stealing small glances at his face. A Diamondback rattlesnake, male, red eyes with yellow around the pupil, black moustache, a black hat, he seemed to be a little bigger than her and a tiny little voice in the back of her head told her he was kind of handsome. His voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Well well, what do we have here?" he asked with a dark smirk. She didn't feel comfortable with this situation at all. Where the hell did he come from?! Heh, probably hell... "An' what are you doin' here, littl' song snake?"

'Song snake'? No… No no no no no no! There is NO WAY he heard her sing! But why else would he call her that? Dammit! Why does someone always have to be there when she think she's actually alone? Well, there's no point in lying now.

"You…heard me sing?" she asked with a 'how dare you' look and leaned back a little to get more space. He smirked at it.

"Why o' course littl' darlin'," he said as he leaned forward to follow her movements. "An' I must say that I'm rather impressed. You have the voice o' an angel." He didn't stop smirking for a second. So the devil or whatever he was had found an angel, so what? She was defiantly _not _an angel. Bella could feel the need to get out of here before their conversation led to a fight, which she's a master at.

"Alright listen, I have no idea where ya came from or what yer doin' here but I'm afraid that I have to leave now. See ya." She said in a hurried and impatience tone and turned her back to him and started to slither in a faster than normal pace. Bella had to summon every muscle in her body to not make a high pitched noise when the damn snake she was trying to escape stood (if you can call it that) before her again. He was a fast one, probably been through some training to be so fast. But what annoyed her most was that that goddamn smirk was still there!

"Now, why are ya in such a hurry darlin'? I don't even know yer name yet. So how about some introductions before we continue with the subject, hm?" Alright, so he is either a terrible flirt or he's just enchanted by her singing. Bella didn't know what was worse. And introductions was in her state something that should be avoided, but it could help her remember who this damn rattler is. She knew she had seen him before, not face to face, but on some paper. She was about to say her first name when he suddenly spoke again. "But ya probably already know who I am, afte' all I am known in the whole west. An' also one o' the most feared ones." He said with a grin and a dark look in his eyes that was probably meant to scare her, but she had seen worse in her days. She had seen the look her father use at his…opponents. So she just raised a brow at him and that made his grin drop immediately. Now he looked almost a little pissed off, oh dear. Bella didn't feel like getting caught in a fight today, not during her first day here!

"Are you serious, you don't know who I am?!" he looked at her in disbelief and anger. He probably felt a little humiliated to stand there and talk to someone who didn't know who he is. Especially a snake, at this time every snake, at least all the rattlesnakes, should know who he is! Was this woman serious?

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I've seen ya somewhere before. But yer name is long forgotten in my mind." Bella said with a little smirk, she was rather proud of herself to have made him stop grinning. The anger in the males eyes seemed to increase a little, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Very well then, let my name get stuck in yer brain this time then!" he said with an angry huff. "I am the Grim reaper o' the west, Rattlesnake Jake!" he said with a mighty voice and raised himself higher up in the air. Rattlesnake Jake? Rattlesnake Jake, Rattlesnake Jake, Rattlesnake…Jake. Of course! The one who called himself the Grim reaper, and who others also called the Grim reaper. That's why his eyes are so familiar. The snake from hell. Bella then realized that the situation just got a little more dangerous. She's standing here and talking to the Grim reaper. She may have killed before, but Jake defiantly had the advantage here. He have a gun which she doesn't have, she have to be more careful now with her words.

"So you are the one they call the Grim reaper," she said with a calm and careful voice, she didn't want it to look like she was submitting to him or anything. "Eh…nice to meet you?" she had to admit to herself that she needed to practice on her social skills. And her way to try to act friendly only seemed to anger Jake more.

"I believe it's time for ya to introduce yourself so I know who the fool is I'm talkin' to, littl' song snake." She could see how he was trying to control himself to not do…whatever it was he wanted to do.

"I'm Bella, now if ya would be so kind to step away I will be on my way. An' don't call me song snake!" Fast and simple just how she likes it, but the male in front of her didn't seem to like it.

"I believe ya haven't told me yer full name darlin'." It was clear that Jake are losing the little patience he had left, if any. He's almost certain that he's seen her before, and her name would most likely help him to remember where and who she really was.

"An' I believe I don't have to tell ya my full name," now Bella are also losing her patience. "Now _please _get out o' my way so I can actually _try_ to enjoy my day." She said before she once again tried to slither around him. As expected he stopped her again but this time he wrapped his coils around her so she couldn't move away from him. That was apparently his last straw.

"I don't think so darlin'. Ya ain't goin' anywhere until I say ya can…" Oh dear.

~RJ+BF~

Rango had a bad gut feeling. A _really _bad gut feeling. He's using that sentence when he _thinks _danger is close. Sometimes he's right, and sometimes he's wrong. He had spent the day taking his usual tour through the town and he just know that there's something he's missing. He'd check for crime, been on the toilet, he'd ate some passing flies, said 'hello' to all the townspeople he'd met today… Wait a moment… That's it! He hadn't checked on Bella today how she's been doing! Rango put on a wide grin on his face, proud over himself for his own reminding note. But his grin quickly fell as he remember that he haven't seen her since morning. Where could she be? She's the biggest animal in the town! Rango took the decision to ask someone instead of running around in the town and play hero on a searching mission (as he first he planned). His legs were already hurting and thanks to the lack of sleep the previous night he's also very tired. Rango stepped into the saloon and made his way up to Bufford who's busy cleaning a glass.

"Howdy Bufford, have ya seen miss Bella today?" he said with his usual happy and carefree voice. Bufford didn't stop cleaning the glass but answered the sheriff anyway.

"I heard some townspeople talking about that she had taking a walk around the lake and then stopped at the middle of it." The lake, eh? He hadn't showed her it, only told her about it.

"Thank ya Bufford, I'll be on my way then." Bufford looked like he had something more to tell Rango but let it slip for this time. Rango had already started walking anyway.

Once outside he headed straight for the lake. The clock had already hit 14:00 pm, now it was 14:10 pm. Rango was quite happy over how the day had gone. No one had come and complained about Bella or anything she'd done. And Rango had to grin again, but it fell from his face as fast as the last one. By now he could smell Bella, but the air around told him that there was not one snake in the area, but TWO. And what was making Rango nervous was that he recognized the other smell. He'd smelt it before, just a couple of months ago. It was male, big and dangerous. Rango started to walk faster until he ran beside the lake. It didn't take him long before he could see Bella and another snake facing eachother. Rango could see that the male snake had a black hat and a gun where the rattle should be. Everything was _uncomfortably _familiar. And then it hit Rango who it was that had made an unexpected appearance.

"Jake, what are you doin' here?!" It came out of Rango's mouth before he could stop it. The snake in question slowly turned his head and gave the sheriff a dark stare and an evil smirk.

"Why hello brother, been a long time hasn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it's been some time, brother," now Rango really had to be careful, even though he couldn't help but to be a little show off. "But I'm afraid I have to tell ya to release miss Bella or I will have to arrest ya."

"My hero." Bella said with sarcasm. Thought she was a little curious why the Grim Reaper and the new legend of Mud are calling eachother brothers. Jake's eyes got a glint of amusement in them by Bella's reply.

"Oh, he may be a hero littl' darlin', but he sure as hell won't be yours." Jake said with a bit of amusement in his voice as well.

"Now, now, Jake, I would like to know what yer doin' here." Rango's accent is still there, even though he himself is a little worried about the rattlers answer.

"Didn't anyone tell ya, sheriff?" Jake asked with the same smirk he'd had since Rango came. "This's my town, even thou ya may be the sheriff. I have all the right to come here for a visit whenever I want. An' I recommend you to find a house for me to sleep in while I'm here, if you want to keep all of yer body parts."

Rango swallowed as his brain started to gather all of this information. Jake had come here to town and wanted a house? But the only house that's left is the mayors and Bella is living in it right now! Jake wouldn't take 'sorry, there are no spare houses left' for an answer. So what to do? …Rango's face lit up as his surprisingly functional brain made up a plan. It was quite obvious that Jake nor Bella had expected the sheriffs face to lit up like that. For their faces now showed nothing more than confusion, and Jake's a little bit of frustration because the lizard suddenly looked comfortable with the situation.

"What're ya so happy about all o' the sudden, sheriff?" Jake asked with anger taking over his features. Bella could also feel his coils around her tightening.

"Well, you see Jake," Rango started and actually looked a little smug now. "The last spare house we got that was big enough for ya to stay in…has already been taken."

"By _who_?!"

"Someone yer size, brother."

Jake paused and took all of this in. By someone his size? It could only be a snake, but who could possibly be-

…oh.

Jake turned his head to look at the now more uncomfortable woman in his coils. This fierce angel is living in Mud now? That didn't sound so bad in Jakes head.

"An' what are you planning to do about that, sheriff?" Jake was having a surprisingly good feeling in his stomach, despite that disgusting rat he'd ate.

"I've made the decision that until we found a spare house for you to live in, you and miss Bella will be sharing that house together."

"_WHAT?!_"

**Authors note: Well, I promised that the next chapter would come sooner than the last one. And it did, I've been one day faster with this chapter than the last one, not really impressive… So next time I try to finish it even faster! Until then, see ya!**


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